Even if an inmate's sentence is not oppressively long, their treatment while incarcerated can still constitute subhuman treatment. Prisons are not medical facilities, but they regularly are forced to deal with mental health problems and care for elderly and terminally ill inmates. Food, if it's even edible, usually lacks enough nutrition for inmates' health to not deteriorate. Plus, with a lack of opportunities to see family, read, or gain skill sets, inmates are placed in buildings which lack any resemblance of the civilized world.
“Evans' plight underscores the serious bind for prisoners facing life-threatening illnesses — and the real-world effects of the First Step Act, a law President Trump signed last December to lighten sentences for some drug offenders. Another part of the law gives sick or elderly inmates the chance to petition a judge for early release if the Bureau of Prisons fails to act on their petitions after 30 days.“
NPR
March 15, 2019
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